Chapter 15 Cyberbullying
A junker? It was obvious Clarence was drunk. My car was a limited edition, and only five of them existed.
Sure, he could afford one, but the idea of handing me that kind of money would no doubt make his blood boil.
Just as I expected, the moment I told him the price, he burst out laughing–loud and unrestrained. Contempt clouded his eyes as he looked at me.
“Janelle, do you seriously think you can afford a car worth millions?” he spat.
I met his gaze, cold and steady. “Feel free to verify it.”
Clarence was so drunk that he could barely stand. So, Ivana had to hold him up to keep him from toppling over.
But the hostility in her eyes as she looked at me was unmistakable.
“Come on, Janelle. Are you seriously trying to make money by pulling stunts like this?” Ivana asked with a sneer.
I shot back, “You both know whether I’ve made money off you.”
I didn’t bother saying anything more. Instead, I had my lawyer send a letter, along with video evidence of Clarence vandalizing my car.
1/1
The next morning, I woke up to find I had gone viral. It all started with a video Ivana posted.
In her version, I was the bitter ex–wife who couldn’t move on and the one who’d hired a bunch of people to crash their wedding. According to her, the rowdy guests weren’t even her relatives but actors I had paid to stir up chaos.
She claimed I had turned their big day into a joke and capped it off by staging the luxury car incident.
“Guys, Clarence and are truly in love,” Ivana said. “He and Janelle haven’t had feelings for each other in ages. Besides, she was the one who filed for divorce. I honestly don’t know why she’s doing all this.”
She didn’t cry, but the hurt was written all over her face.
The second the video went live, the internet blew up. In an instant, I became the public’s enemy.
However, I wasn’t rattled. The next thing I did was call Clarence.
He picke
up almost immediately. “What’s wrong, Janelle? Are you scared? If you issue a public apology, maybe I’ll convince Ivana to post a clarification.”
His voice oozed smugness, even over the phone,
Out of nowhere, I laughed. I couldn’t believe how bold and shameless Clarence had become.
My laughter set him off. In the next second, he started shouting into the phone, but I didn’t give him the satisfaction.
“Clarence, we were married once. If you and Ivana set the record straight, I’ll let it go. If not…”
He scoffed at my words. “If not what? Do you think your family still has the power to fight back?”
I let out a chuckle in response. Then, without another word, I hung up,
Within the hour, I called my parents and had them release the real financial records of the Kirks. At the same time, I told my dad to announce that our company would be bidding on the West City project.
That deal meant everything to the Kirks. In fact, they were counting on it to make a comeback.
Next, I had someone dig into Ivana’s background. Once I had what I needed, I started preparing a video.
Meanwhile, a salesperson from the dealership posted a video of their own, confirming my car was authentic. They showed proof I was one of their VIP clients, and the repair costs would run into the hundreds of thousands.
Once that video was published, everyone went wild.
One user commented, “Didn’t they say Janelle’s broke? How could she afford to drive a car like that?”
Another wrote, “Guys, look what I found!”
They dropped a link, and people clicked on it. It was my family’s company’s latest announcement.
When we officially unveiled our bid for the West City project, the trolls came out in full force.
Someone wrote, “Halia! Have the Sawyers lost it? Do they really think they can compete with the Kirks?”
One netizen replied, “Don’t look down on them, man. If Janelle’s got a car like that, maybe her family’s been low–key loaded this whole time.
Speculation spread like wildfire in no time.
Then, Clarence called me again.
Chapter 16 Shocking News
